Comprehensive Spending Review

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the oral answers of 21 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 1172-77, on the comprehensive spending review and legislative competence, if he will place in the Library copies of the correspondence and paperwork exchanged with National Assembly of Wales Ministers which set out the specific instances and road schemes in Wales affected by clause 109 of the Local Transport Bill.

Peter Hain: There has been no exchange of such correspondence between Ministers.

Departmental ICT

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which manufacturers' software is used in his Department.

Peter Hain: The Wales office does not record which manufacturers' software is used as all software currently used within the Wales office is provided by the Ministry of Justice.

Departmental Flexible Working

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff  (a) have applied to work flexible hours and  (b) work flexible hours (i) in his Department and (ii) the executive agencies for which the Department is responsible.

Paul Goggins: Within the Northern Ireland Office staff are expected to work conditioned hours, however there is a considerable amount of flexibility in the way staff are permitted to work. flexible working time (that is, a flexible start and finish each day) is available to the majority of staff where operational/business needs permit.
	In line with the Employment (NT) Order 2002 the Northern Ireland Office has processes in place to allow staff to request flexible working hours to enable them to balance their family and employment responsibilities. As decisions are made by the business area concerned the information on the number of staff who have applied to work flexible hours under this order is not collated centrally.
	The following table shows the number of staff within the NIO who currently work reduced hours, job share or term time.
	
		
			   Number 
			 Reduced hours 216 
			 Job share 26 
			 Term time full-time 13 
			 Term time part-time 9 
			 Total number of staff 2,074

Minibuses: Licensing

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Children, Schools and Families on the interpretation of new driving licence regulations for minibus drivers with post-1997 licences; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has had extensive discussions with the Department of Children, Schools and Families previously the Department for Education and Skills. As a result guidance on the options available for incidental driving of minibuses was issued in April 2006.

Road Traffic: Schools

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on measures to reduce traffic generated by the school run since her appointment as Secretary of State for Transport.

Rosie Winterton: The Secretary of State for Transport met the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families earlier this month to discuss how the two Departments might encourage more children to travel to school by bus, cycling or walking and thereby reduce traffic generated by the school run.
	The Department for Transport and Department for Children, Schools and Families have been working together for several years now to reduce traffic generated by the school run and in 2003 launched our joint 'Travelling to School' project, setting out how we want all schools in England to develop an approved school travel plan by 2010 in order to reduce car use for journeys to and from school and to allow many more children to take regular exercise. At the end of March 2007 more than 14,000 schools (56 per cent.) already had an approved plan and we are on target for all schools to have such a plan by 2010.
	The 2006 National Travel Survey suggests that the proportion of children travelling by car has now started to fall. 32 per cent. of children age five to 16 travelled to school by car in both 2004 and 2005 but this has fallen to 30 per cent. in 2006.
	The Department for Transport and Department for Children School and Families continue to work together to make further progress.

Computer Misuse Act 1990

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) prosecutions were brought and  (b) convictions obtained for offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 in 2006.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker) on 19 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 667-68W.
	Information for 2006 will be available shortly.

Mayors' Community Payback Scheme

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many local authorities have participated in the Mayors' Community Payback Scheme.

David Hanson: We do not collect this information centrally but telephone inquiries indicate that of the 42 probation areas in England and Wales 36 have established Mayors' Community Payback work projects and a total of 63 projects sponsored by mayors are planned, underway or completed. The Mayors' Community Payback Scheme was launched this year to promote public awareness of the significant amount of unpaid work done by offenders on community sentences that benefits local communities and makes reparation for offenders' crimes.

Probation Officers: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full- or part-time probation officers there were in West Chelmsford constituency in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Information is not available for the full period requested. Data collected prior to April 2003 were collected by Home Office RDS unit and was not broken down into probation areas. The following table shows full-time equivalent (FTE) figures as at 31 December for each year and relate to Essex probation area in its entirety as information is not collected for districts within probation areas.
	The reporting mechanism used within the service means that it is not possible at probation area level to extract numbers pertaining to specific staff groups. The information is broken down as operational and support staff between 2003 and 2005. In addition, in 2006, the Offender Management model was adopted across the National Probation Service and the collection of work force information was modified to reflect this change. Consequently, the information is not directly comparable with previous years.
	
		
			  Staff in post in Essex probation area 2003 - 06 
			  Job group  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Operational staff 331.7 347.0 339.1 — 
			 Support staff 67.4 85.7 136.7 — 
			 Offender Management — — — 156.4 
			 Interventions — — — 90.4 
			 Other agencies/services — — — 54.5 
			 Corporate services — — — 172.5 
			 Total staff in post 399.1 432.7 475.8 473.8

Domestic Wastes: Waste Disposal

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research  (a) has been and  (b) will be undertaken by his Department to assess the effects of fortnightly bin collections on levels of fly-tipping.

Joan Ruddock: My Department has not commissioned any research to formally assess fly-tipping incidents resulting from local authorities moving to alternate weekly collections of residual household waste.
	Many alternate weekly collections have been in place for a number of years and pre-date the collection of fly-tipping statistics. In addition, many schemes run in only parts of a local authority area. Therefore, data from Flycapture, the national fly-tipping statistical database, cannot be used to assess a link between switching to alternate weekly collection of household waste and an increase in fly tipping incidents.
	However, my Department has been in discussions with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to investigate whether there are any local authorities which are introducing these schemes in the future that would be prepared to carry out some pre and post scheme analysis of fly-tipping. No local authorities have come forward to date. Discussions have also taken place with two local authorities that have recently introduced alternate weekly collections across the whole of their boroughs and my officials will investigate whether Flycapture can be used in these instances for any meaningful analysis.
	My Department actively encourages local authorities to have fly-tipping prevention and enforcement strategies in place, regardless of whether they introduce alternate weekly collections or not.

Waste Disposal: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with Gloucestershire county council on its proposed waste facility at Javelin Park off Junction 12 of the M5.

Joan Ruddock: No such discussions have taken place. The Government believe that Local authorities are best placed to make local waste management decisions.

Africa: Floods

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the long-term effects of the flooding in Africa; and what additional work his Department is undertaking to assist the flood hit regions.

Shahid Malik: In West Africa and the Sahel, the floods have coincided with the most critical time of year, when families face food insecurity. The destruction of crop and food stocks has aggravated the vulnerability of poor families both in the immediate and medium terms. In East Africa, the affects have been as severe—in Uganda, the next successful harvest cannot be expected before February 2008, and it will take at least two harvests for affected households to fully recover their losses.
	Across the affected countries, medium term food security needs are being formally assessed by DFID's traditional partners (including the World Food Programme), and DFID will respond as appropriate on the basis of the vulnerabilities identified.
	DFID has responded promptly to the humanitarian consequences of the flooding through relief interventions and complementary early recovery activities, where needs have been assessed and identified. Overall, a total of £9.21 million has been allocated for flood response from the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)—to which the UK has contributed £42.2 million this year. The Togo contribution (£110,000) was specifically for agricultural recovery.
	DFID is also the largest donor to the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) in Sudan, contributing approximately £40 million this year, and the Humanitarian Response Fund (HRF) in Ethiopia, contributing £3 million this year. These funds have been drawn down in Sudan (£2.4 million) and Ethiopia (£1 million) for flood response. Some of these funds will be directed towards addressing the longer term effects of the flooding.
	Direct DFID funding is being provided where humanitarian and recovery needs remain unmet. So far DFID has contributed £1 million in Ethiopia to the appeal of the international Red Cross (ICRC), some of which is being used for flood response, and a total of £1.834 million in Uganda and Ghana. In. Ghana £343,000 is in support of an agricultural recovery programme being implemented by CARE.

Bangladesh: International Assistance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid and assistance has been provided by the UK Government to Bangladesh in relation to damage caused by Cyclone Sidr.

Shahid Malik: The UK Government have provided £5 million for Cyclone Sidr relief in Bangladesh: £2.5 million through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to local Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and an additional £2.5 million as announced by the Secretary of State on the 23 November. The UK also accounts for an 18 per cent. share, around £650,000, of the European Commission's (EC) pledge of approximately £3.6 million for emergency aid. DFID has made indirect contributions through the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which has allocated US $14.7 million to the Bangladesh response. This year, DFID has provided $83.7 million to the Fund, making us the largest donor. The UK is also providing support through some of our existing development programmes in Bangladesh.
	DFID has sent two disaster relief experts to Bangladesh to support the DFID country office in its emergency efforts and make recommendations on further UK support. Our Bangladesh office is in regular contact with the Government of Bangladesh's Disaster Management Bureau (to which DFID is providing long-term support), and the UN team concerning the situation on the ground.

Children: Maintenance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether money received from  (a) war disablement pensions and  (b) the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (i) is included in the calculation of child support payments by the Child Support Agency and (ii) will be included in calculations made by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

James Plaskitt: The current treatment of parents receiving these payments differs between the two existing schemes.
	Under the first child support scheme introduced in 1993 any element of a war disablement pension awarded in respect of attendance needs is ignored. The remaining part of that award in respect of a parent, and any periodical payment made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, will be taken into account, apart from a £10 a week disregard. If the liability of a non-resident parent receiving one of these payments would otherwise be the minimum amount, the liability is reduced to nil.
	Under the second child support scheme, introduced from March 2003, a non resident parent receiving war disablement pension or periodical payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme will be liable for a flat-rate maintenance of £5 per week.
	The proposed new calculation rules to be operated by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission from 2010 will continue to include a flat-rate but at £7 per week for non-resident parents receiving war disablement pension or periodical payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Departmental Pay

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value of the Christmas bonus for staff was in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: The Christmas bonus has been £10 in each year since 1997.

Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2007,  Official Report, column 237W, on redundancy pay, what the  (a) average,  (b) highest and  (c) lowest redundancy payment was; and what the budget for redundancies was in that period.

Caroline Flint: In the 12 months ending 31 March 2007, £55.8 million was spent on early release payments. Over this period there were no compulsory redundancies.
	Based on the average cost to the Department in 2006-07, the overall average early release payment was £50,000. The highest early release cost to the Department, at Grade 6 level, was £240,000 and the lowest early release cost, at Administrative Assistant level, was £9,500 and the overall average cost in that year was £50,000. These payments are based on the cost to the Department not the payment to the individual.
	The departmental budget for early releases in 2006-07 was £85 million. £55.8 million has been spent and the balance of £29.2 million has been set aside for future pension provision.

Afghanistan: Detainees

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which NATO members currently involved in ISAF in Afghanistan do not have memoranda of understanding on the transfer of detainees with the Afghan authorities; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We are aware of bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Afghan Government and The Netherlands, Canada, Norway, and Denmark. The UK also has a bilateral MoU.
	Our MoU details the arrangements reached between the UK and Afghan Governments and sets out the responsibilities of both parties before and after the transfer to Afghan authorities of persons detained in Afghanistan by British forces.

Departmental Foreign Workers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) EU foreign nationals and  (b) non EU foreign nationals are employed by his Department.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office employs 12,788 staff overseas, of which 2,439 are UK-based and 10,349 are locally employed. UK-based staff are British citizens. We have no central records of the nationality of local staff.

Iran: Sanctions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the implementation of European Union sanctions on Iran, with particular reference to the UK's compliance; what the total amount of assets frozen is by  (a) EU member states and  (b) the United Kingdom in line with these sanctions; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The UK is firmly committed to the full implementation of all EU sanctions, along with our EU partners.
	EU member states do not systematically share detailed information concerning the value of funds they have identified and frozen. However, they are legally obliged to freeze all funds and economic resources belonging to persons and entities listed under the sanctions regime. It is prohibited to make funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to these persons and entities.
	The reported balance of UK frozen funds in relation to UN and EU sanctions on Iran amounts to £512,982,378.00.

Alternatives to Prison: Cannabis

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) antisocial behaviour orders,  (b) police cautions and  (c) official warnings for cannabis possession were issued in (i) England and (ii) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) first became available in April 1999. The number of ASBOs issued in each year from April 1999 up to December 2005 (latest available) in (i) England (ii) London and (iii) each London borough can be found in the following tables. The number of ASBOs issued in Greater London shown in tables 1 and 2 differs due to the basis on which the ASBOs have been counted. Table 1 shows the number of ASBOs based on the location of the court that issued them and table 2 shows the number of ASBOs based on the local authority area in which the boundary prohibitions apply.
	Data showing the number of offenders cautioned in England and London for all offences from 1997 to 2005 is in table 3. Data for 2006 will be available in late November 2007. The number of cautions issued in each London borough is not available, as police forces only supply cautions data for the whole of the force area.
	The available information on formal warnings for cannabis possession (now known as cannabis warnings) is given in table 4. The data relates to the number of recorded offences detected by this method and is not available prior to 2004-05.
	
		
			  Number of antisocial behaviour orders issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, in Greater London and England by year, April 1999 to December 2005 
			  Area  April 1999-May 2000  June-December 2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  Total issued April 1999-December 2005 
			 Greater London 9 19 15 21 139 441 528 1,172 
			 England 104 135 344 414 1,272 3,317 3,845 9,431 
			  Notes:  1. Previously issued data have been revised following joint Home Office/Court Service data reconciliation exercises. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  N umber of ASBOs issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, by period and where restrictions are imposed within a local authority area( 1)  within Greater London, up to 31 December 2005 
			 1 January to 31 December  
			  Greater London  1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000( 2)  1 June to 31 December 2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  1 April 1999 to 31 December 2005 
			 Greater London 9 19 15 21 140 441 532 1,177 
			 Barking and Dagenham n/a — — — 2 4 19 25 
			 Barnet n/a — 2 — 1 10 9 22 
			 Bexley n/a 2 — 6 4 4 6 22 
			 Brent n/a — — — 8 6 11 25 
			 Bromley n/a 1 — — 5 3 5 14 
			 Camden n/a 5 1 10 30 57 69 172 
			 City of London Corp n/a — — — — 10 6 16 
			 Croydon n/a 1 — — 7 8 10 26 
			 Ealing n/a — — — 1 14 9 24 
			 Enfield n/a — — — 2 4 15 21 
			 Greenwich n/a — 3 1 3 8 11 26 
			 Hackney n/a — 1 1 1 15 14 32 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham n/a — 2 — 4 12 16 34 
			 Haringey n/a — — — 5 34 25 64 
			 Harrow n/a — — — 1 12 2 15 
			 Havering n/a — — — 1 9 19 29 
			 Hillingdon n/a — — — — 18 36 54 
			 Hounslow n/a — — — 7 23 22 52 
			 Islington n/a — — — 10 6 10 26 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Royal Borough n/a — — — 1 9 7 17 
			 Kingston-on-Thames n/a — — — 4 4 5 13 
			 Lambeth n/a 1 2 1 2 20 20 46 
			 Lewisham n/a — 2 — 5 16 12 35 
			 Merton n/a — — 1 2 13 10 26 
			 Newham n/a — 2 — — 5 11 18 
			 Redbridge n/a — — — 1 8 9 18 
			 Richmond upon Thames n/a — — — 3 10 13 26 
			 Southwark n/a — — — 8 11 18 37 
			 Sutton n/a 3 — — 7 7 19 36 
			 Tower Hamlets n/a — — 1 3 16 36 56 
			 Waltham Forest n/a — — — — 15 11 26 
			 Wandsworth n/a — — — 6 12 12 30 
			 Westminster n/a 6 — — 6 38 35 85 
			 n/a = not available (1) This local authority area table differs from criminal justice system area (cjsa) tables in that an issuing court can be outside the area in which the restrictions have been imposed. For example, an issuing court may be in Kent (cjsa) but restrictions apply solely to a local authority area within London. (2) Between 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 data were collected on aggregate numbers only by police force area (pfa).  Notes: 1. Previously issued data have been revised following joint Home Office/Court Service data reconciliation exercises. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offenders cautioned for all offences, in England and London, 1997 to 2005 ( 1,3) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 England 263,712 268,779 247,846 222,750 214,161 210,552 225,013 241,873 283,578 
			 London (2) 54,778 58,720 46,948 37,317 32,239 33,168 32,298 32,438 35,959 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) The London total is the number of offenders cautioned in the Metropolitan and City of London Police force areas. (3) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons aged under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and final warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. 
		
	
	
		
			  Offences detected by means of a cannabis warning( 1) 
			  Number of detections 
			  Area  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 England 37,119 60,059 77,110 
			 London(2) 13,665 21,722 30,927 
			  London boroughs
			 Barking and Dagenham (3)— 347 588 
			 Barnet (3)— 343 461 
			 Bexley (3)— 163 218 
			 Brent (3)— 2,125 1,978 
			 Bromley (3)— 247 373 
			 Camden (3)— 564 1,205 
			 City of Westminster (3)— 1,762 3,371 
			 Croydon (3)— 447 783 
			 Ealing (3)— 826 1,591 
			 Enfield (3)— 678 1,471 
			 Greenwich (3)— 558 579 
			 Hackney (3)— 1,077 1,138 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham (3)— 409 735 
			 Haringey (3)— 922 1,540 
			 Harrow (3)— 308 408 
			 Havering (3)— 171 354 
			 Hillingdon (3)— 968 1,061 
			 Hounslow (3)— 353 635 
			 Islington (3)— 563 737 
			 Kensington and Chelsea (3)— 438 861 
			 Kingston upon Thames (3)— 114 204 
			 Lambeth (3)— 1,669 1,754 
			 Lewisham (3)— 614 922 
			 Merton (3)— 178 210 
			 Newham (3)— 1,001 776 
			 Redbridge (3)— 374 681 
			 Richmond upon Thames (3)— 141 220 
			 Southwark (3)— 1,245 1,549 
			 Sutton (3)— 157 190 
			 Tower Hamlets (3)— 547 1,004 
			 Waltham Forest (3)— 1,000 1,387 
			 Wandsworth (3)— 717 1,554 
			 Total 13,160 21,026 30,538 
			 (1) Prior to 16 January 2007 these were named 'Formal warnings for cannabis possession'. (2) includes the City of London police and the Metropolitan police service. (3) Data not available by borough for 2004-05.

Firearms: North East Region

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents involving ( a) replica firearms,  (b) air rifles and  (c) BB guns have been reported in (i) Teesside, (ii) the north-east and (iii) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Available information is given in the following table in which  (a) 'replica firearms' are denoted as imitation firearms and  (b) air rifles are incorporated within the figures for offences involving air weapons.
	 (c) Statistics on the number of offences involving BB guns have only been collected separately since April 2004. Data prior to that date are not available centrally.
	Data collected centrally for recorded crime involving firearms in England and Wales is only available at police force area level. Information on Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland is therefore included within the north-east region which includes Cleveland, Northumbria and Durham police forces.
	
		
			  Crimes recorded by Cleveland police and the north-east region( 1)  police force area in which firearms were reported to have been used ,by type of weapon, 2001-02 to 2005-06 
			  Weapon type  2001-02( 2)  2002-03( 3)  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Cleveland  
			 Imitation firearms 3 6 22 20 30 
			 Air weapons 280 283 361 305 173 
			 BB guns (4)— (4)— (4)— 19 29 
			   
			  North east region( 1)  
			 Imitation firearms 43 51 147 147 109 
			 Air weapons 879 806 887 739 516 
			 BB guns (4)— (4)— (4)— 111 91 
			 (1) North east region includes Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria police forces. (2) Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. (3) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002.Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by this. (4) Figures are not available centrally. Data were collected separately since April 2004.

Children: Disabled

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions he had with the Scottish Executive on the allocation of additional funding to Scotland for expenditure on disabled children and their families arising from the Government's response to the 2006 review of support for disabled children and their families, Aiming High for Disabled Children; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 26 November2007
	No discussion between the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and Scottish Executive Ministers has occurred on this matter.
	Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales should receive settlements which reflect the increased CSR settlement for education and children's services in England announced at the time of the 2006 Budget. As part of this settlement, the Department has allocated £340 million to improve services for disabled children in England. This is equivalent to an increase of £34 million, £11 million and £20 million respectively for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. However, it will be up to the devolved administrations to decide how much of their overall allocation should be directed to services for disabled children.

Dyslexia

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of the research his Department has commissioned on  (a) the incidence of dyslexia and  (b) the ways in which the condition affects families.

Kevin Brennan: Data has been collected in the School Census since 2004 on the primary types of need of children with statements and at School Action Plus—where the school involves external support or advice to meet the child's needs. Figures for January 2007 for pupils in schools with a specific learning difficulty (which includes dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia) show that there are 75,920 pupils either with a statement of SEN or supported at School Action Plus. The Department has not commissioned further research into the incidence of dyslexia.
	To identify and disseminate best practice in improving outcomes for children with dyslexia, we are working with the British Dyslexia Association, Dyslexia Action, Xtraordinary People and the Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties on the No to Failure Project. This project is supporting schools in three local authority areas to become project trailblazers, where children are being screened for dyslexia and individual specialist tuition is then provided to those who are identified as having dyslexia. The impact of this approach on outcomes is being evaluated. The project is also evaluating the impact of providing specialist dyslexia training for teachers, developing examples of good practice which can be extended nationally, and raising awareness of dyslexia as a learning difficulty. We are providing up to £900,000 funding over three years to support this project.

Influenza

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on contingencies prepared for the possible re-deployment of school staff in support of other public services as a consequence of any future influenza pandemic, as identified in Exercise Winter Willow;
	(2)  if he will provide an update on the policy for the closure of schools in the event of any future influenza pandemic, identified as a consequence of Exercise Winter Willow; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Government's policy on possible school closures remain that set out in the Department's guidance to schools and local authorities published in July 2006. It is possible that we will advise schools and group early years and childcare settings to close when a pandemic reaches their area. The decision on whether to issue such advice cannot be taken before there is a pandemic, as the decision will be based on the evaluation by expert advisers of the level of threat to children and young people from the pandemic strain of virus.
	Officials from my Department are in discussion with partners in local government about the possibility of school staff assisting other services if schools were to close during a pandemic. However, we would hope that schools, working with their local authorities, would support remote learning by students during a pandemic, which would involve some, if not all, of a school's teaching staff.

Pupil Exclusions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many fixed period exclusions there were in England in 2006-07, broken down by age and sex of excluded pupil.

Kevin Brennan: Data is not yet available for 2006-07; this will be published in June 2008. The latest year for which data is available is 2005-06 and relates to secondary schools only. This information is given in the table:
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools( 1) : number of fixed period exclusions by age and gender England, 2005-06( 2) 
			   Fixed period exclusions 
			   Boys  Girls  Total 
			  Number of exclusions
			 Age(3)
			 4 and under 0 0 0 
			 5 0 0 0 
			 6 0 0 0 
			 7 0 0 0 
			 8 (4)— 0 (4)— 
			 9 530 80 610 
			 10 860 90 950 
			 11 31,830 6,690 38,530 
			 12 49,370 16,850 66,230 
			 13 61,000 27,730 88,720 
			 14 64,220 28,390 92,610 
			 15 40,030 14,640 54,670 
			 16 760 200 950 
			 17 300 80 380 
			 18 20 10 30 
			 19 and over 10 (4)— 10 
			 Total(5) 248,950 94,750 343,840 
			 
			  Percentage of school population( 6)
			 Age(3):
			 4 and under 000 0.00 0.00 
			 5 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 6 0.00 0.00 0,00 
			 7 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 8 (4)— 0.00 (4)— 
			 9 4.36 0.69 2.57 
			 10 6.16 0.64 3,46 
			 11 11.15 2.43 6.87 
			 12 16.98 5.97 11.56 
			 13 20.26 9.51 14.97 
			 14 21.35 9.67 15.58 
			 15 13.67 5.11 9.44 
			 16 0.84 0.19 0.50 
			 17 0.43 0.09 0.25 
			 18 033 0.21 0.27 
			 19 and over 1.98 (4)— 1.00 
			 Total(5) 14.96 5.77 10.40 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed.  (2) For the 2005-06 school year, information on fixed period exclusions from secondary schools was collected via the school census for the first time (the termly exclusions survey has been discontinued). For exclusions during 2006-07, information on fixed period exclusions will also be collected from primary and special schools. See Notes to Editors 2.  (3) Age as at 31 August 2005.  (4) Less than 5, or a rate based on less than 5.  (5) There were 140 exclusions for which gender and age were unclassified and three male exclusions for whom age was unclassified. These have been included in the total only.  (6) The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils of each age in secondary schools as at January 2006.   Note:  Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.   Source:  School Census

Financial Services Authority: Public Participation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the codes of practice developed by the  (a) Cabinet Office on consultation and  (b) Better Regulation Executive on the principles of good regulation apply to consultations conducted by the Financial Services Authority.

Kitty Ussher: The Cabinet Office code of practice on consultation applies to all UK public consultations by Government departments. It is not a statutory code and cannot prevail over statutory or mandatory external requirements such as those contained in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Act places consultation requirements on the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and sets out what should accompany the consultation document.
	With regard to (b), the principles of good regulation are specified in the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006. The FSA will need to have regard to the principles in the Act and the draft regulators' compliance code that flows from it.

Gift Aid

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on charities that receive income tax refunds under the gift aid scheme; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much was refunded to higher rate income tax payers under the gift aid scheme in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  in how many cases income tax claimed by charities under the gift aid scheme has been deemed ineligible in each of the last five years, broken down by reason for ineligibility; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how much income tax claimed under the gift aid scheme by charities was deemed ineligible in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  how much income tax was passed on to charities under the gift aid scheme in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The information held by HMRC on charities that receive income tax refunds under the Gift Aid scheme is:
	charity name;
	registered charity number;
	HMRC reference number;
	name and address of authorised charity official making income tax repayment claim (or their nominee);
	company or trust status;
	accounting date; and
	charity's nominated bank name, account number and sort code.
	Details of income tax paid to charities under the Gift Aid scheme, and the cost of income tax relief given to higher rate donors is available to the public on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/charities/menu.htm
	Figures for 2006-07 show total repayments to charities under Gift Aid of £830 million and £220 million of Gift Aid relief claimed by higher rate taxpayers.
	The number of ineligible Gift Aid claims made by charities and the total income tax included on those claims is available only at disproportionate cost.

Insurance: Equal Opportunities

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what policy objectives he has for diversity and competition within the commercial insurance sector; and what his policy is for regulation of the sector.

Kitty Ussher: The Government strongly encourages competition in all sectors of the economy and has strengthened the UK's competition legislation through the Competition Act 1998 and Enterprise Act 2002. Enforcement of the competition legislation is the responsibility of the Office of Fair Trading, the Competition Commission and the economic regulators.
	Regulation of the commercial insurance sector falls within the responsibilities of the Financial Services Authority.

Members: Correspondence

Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is his Department's practice to attach to written answers hard copies of earlier replies cited in such answers where these were previously given to hon. Members other than the hon. Member to whom the answer is addressed.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 26 November 2007
	I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer he received on 26 November 2007,  Official Report, column 133W from the Deputy Leader of the House (Helen Goodman). Treasury Ministers' written answers which cite earlier replies invariably give the  Hansard column reference.

National Savings

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value is of unclaimed assets in national savings accounts.

Kitty Ussher: National Savings and Investments (NS&I) estimate that there is approximately £466 million of unclaimed assets held with them in dormant accounts. NS&I offer a free tracing service to anyone who thinks that they may have unclaimed money in an NS&I product (www.nsandi.com/help/tracing_service.jsp). To date, it has achieved 48,000 successful traces and reunited customers with £47.8 million.

Violent Extremism

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the preventing of violent extremism programme.

Hazel Blears: The Preventing Violent Extremism Programme has been established to deliver the Government's commitment to support a community-based response to violent extremism. This includes work to support alternative voices, strengthen the resilience of faith institutions, support vulnerable individuals, build the capacity across communities to resist and reject violent extremism, and to promote shared values.

Non-domestic Buildings: Sustainability Standards

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what standards of sustainability she sets for new non-domestic buildings constructed with support from public funding.

Iain Wright: All new non-domestic buildings, including those constructed with support from public funding are required to meet the standards sets out in Building Regulations, including Part L—Conservation of Fuel and Power.
	My Department is also working with other Government Departments to consider the future standards that might be set for energy performance of new non-domestic buildings, including those owned or occupied by the public sector.
	Additionally, the UK Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan which was published on the 5 March 2007, sets out detailed plans for how the Government will move towards a sustainably built and managed central Government estate. This includes using sustainable procurement to make rapid progress against the cross Government sustainable operations targets announced in June 2006.

Community Relations: Religion

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Statement of the Prime Minister of 14 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 667-72, on national security, when she expects the Green Paper on interfaith groups announced by the Prime Minister to be published.

Parmjit Dhanda: We intend to open consultation on an inter faith strategy in December.

Fire Services: Hoaxes and False Alarms

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government has taken to reduce the numbers of false alarms for the fire service since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: My Department published guidance on reducing the number of false alarms from fire-detection and fire-alarms systems in 2004. Since then, the Government have introduced the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This sets out the duties of the responsible person for fire safety in non-domestic premises, part of which includes maintenance of fire precautions. The Government expects fire and rescue services to adopt policies that allow them to respond to real fires without being distracted by false alarms.

Government Office for London

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the future of the Government Office for London.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Government office for London represents central Government in London and will continue to do so. It delivers a range of central Government functions on behalf of Ministers from 11 Whitehall Departments. These functions include negotiating local area agreements with London boroughs, undertaking Secretary of State planning casework, and co-ordinating civil emergency and resilience preparations across the capital.

Housing: Low Incomes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government has taken to increase the availability of affordable housing in the West Midlands since 1997.

Iain Wright: In 2003 my right hon. Friend the Member for Hull, East, as Deputy Prime Minister, published "Sustainable Communities: building for the future", a document setting out a programme of action to tackle key housing problems including lack of affordable housing.
	The programme of actions included the establishment of Regional Housing Boards in each of the regions to develop a Regional Housing Strategy on which to base advice to Ministers about strategic housing priorities and allocation of housing capital funding from the new Regional Housing Pot.
	The West Midlands Regional Housing Board (RHB), in its first West Midlands Regional Housing Strategy published 2005, identified the need for affordable housing as a key regional priority, particularly in the south and west of the region.
	On that basis the RHB made recommendations to Ministers about allocations of funding for the Affordable Housing Programme (formerly Approved Development Programme—ADP), administered by the Housing Corporation, resulting in an allocation to the West Midlands of £377 million pounds over the period 2004-05 to 2007-08, to subsidise delivery of 8,500 new affordable homes.
	Prior to the formation of the RHB, the ADP was allocated on an annual basis through the Housing Corporation and in 2003-04 the allocation was £84.11 million. Therefore, over the five year period 2003-04 to 2007-08 allocations to the West Midlands for the provision of new affordable housing total £460 million.
	In October 2007 the Government announced their overall funding for housing capital allocations for 2008-11. The West Midlands was allocated £209 million for 2008-09 (18 per cent. higher than 2007-08); £228 million for 2009-10 (11 per cent. in-year rise), and £245 million for 2010-11 (7 per cent. in-year rise).
	This additional funding comes with a higher target for delivery of affordable housing, with the West Midlands expected to achieve 10,800 new affordable homes over the period 2008-11.

Housing: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Government has spent on housing in the West Midlands since 1997.

Iain Wright: In the period 1997-98 to 2007-08 the Government have allocated a total of £1.599 billion capital funding to West Midlands local housing authorities.
	This total funding includes:
	£1.092 billion for non-specific housing investment for the 34 local housing authorities in the region;
	£114 million to support local authorities' investment in Disabled Facilities Grants for people with disabilities that necessitate adaptations to their homes;
	£195 million to the two Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders in Sandwell and North Staffordshire for investment to address housing low demand and regeneration; and
	£198 million to the three arms length management organisations in Solihull, Sandwell and Wolverhampton to ensure that the all the council homes in those areas are brought up to the Decent Homes standard.
	In addition to the funding allocated directly to local housing authorities, there is separate Government funding (the Affordable Housing Pot, formerly Approved Development Programme), administered by the Housing Corporation in each region, to deliver new affordable housing.
	Since 2003-04, allocations to the West Midlands from the Affordable Housing Pot have totalled £461 million.

Abortion: Medical Ethics

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce legislation to amend section 4 of the Abortion Act 1967 to remove the duty on a physician with a conscientious objection to treatment under the Act from having to prove it; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Section 4 of the Abortion Act provides that, except where treatment is necessary to save the life of, or prevent grave permanent injury to, the pregnant woman,
	"no person shall be under any duty, whether by contract or by any statutory or other legal requirement, to participate in any treatment authorised by this Act to which he has a conscientious objection".
	A doctor is only required to prove that they have a conscientious objection should the matter arise in legal proceedings.
	It is accepted parliamentary practice that proposals for changes in the law on abortion come from back-bench members and that decisions are made on the basis of free votes. The Government have no plans to change the law on abortion.

Health Centres

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the planned health centres to be open for seven days a week will be additional to the existing network.

Ben Bradshaw: Yes. The £250 million access fund announced by Secretary of State (Alan Johnson) on 10 October is for additional primary medical care services beyond existing provision.

Health Services: Speech Impaired

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to general practitioners on referring children with a speech, language or communication disability to an appropriate service; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 26 November 2007
	No such guidance has been issued.
	The ability to communicate is fundamental to a child's learning and development. 'Aiming High for Disabled Children: better support for families' (published by HM Treasury and Department for Education and Skills, May 2007) recognised the importance of therapy services, such speech and language therapy, as being key to improving outcomes.
	On the 11 September the Secretary of State for Health (Alan Johnson) and Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (Ed Balls) announced a review of services for children and young people with speech, language and communications needs. The review will be lead by the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow).
	The review will build on the investment and improvements to speech and language therapy and the resources made available in the last ten years. The review will advise on a number of areas including examples of good practice in commissioning and delivering services which are responsive to the needs of children, young people and families and which can be viewed as benchmarks for the delivery of local services across England.
	The review will make an interim report in March 2008 and a full report by July 2008.

Liver Diseases

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were admitted to hospital in England as a consequence of  (a) alcoholic liver disease and  (b) cirrhosis in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Data for NHS hospitals England for 1996-97 to 2005-06 
			   Alcoholic liver disease  Cirrhosis of the liver 
			 2005-06 39,725 24,042 
			 2004-05 35,909 20,800 
			 2003-04 32,070 18,355 
			 2002-03 28,645 16,700 
			 2001-02 25,757 15,182 
			 2000-01 23,777 14,663 
			 1999-00 22,482 14,502 
			 1998-99 19,531 13,834 
			 1997-98 18,205 12,749 
			 1996-97 16,252 11,806 
			  Notes:   Ungrossed Data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Assessing growth through time Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected the National Health Service there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.  Data Quality HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Finished admission episodes (FAE) A FAE is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  All Diagnoses count of episodes These figures represent a count of all FAEs where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (7seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a HES record.  ICD10 code used for Alcoholic Liver Disease = K70 ICD10 code used for Cirrhosis of Liver: K70.3 Alcoholic cirrhosis of liver K71.7 Toxic liver disease with fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver K74.3 Primary biliary cirrhosis K74.4 Secondary biliary cirrhosis K74.5 Biliary cirrhosis, unspecified K74.6 Other and unspecified cirrhosis of liver. 
		
	
	Code K70.3 is also included within the data for Alcoholic Liver Disease. These figures should not be added together as this would cause double counting.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Answer of 23 October 2007,  Official Report, column 272W, on NHS: finance, how many NHSnet users there are; and what personally identifiable information is contained in the programme budgeting atlases.

Ben Bradshaw: The Programme Budget Atlases contain no direct personally identifiable information in the sense of names, identification numbers, postcodes etc. However, some of the statistics contained within the atlases are based on very small numbers of events and may, therefore, have the potential to identify an individual. There are now some 300,000 registered NHSnet users, over 132,000 of whom use the system on a daily basis.